Her first journey was mostly for publicity purposes, and the ship was not scheduled to venture much past Pluto. However, the Enterprise-B was the only ship in range capable of responding to a distress call from two Federation transport ships, the SS Lakul and the SS Robert Fox. The ships, which were carrying El-Aurianrefugees, had become trapped in an energy distortion called the Nexus. Because the Enterprise-B lacked equipment necessary to rescue the ships, the Robert Fox was destroyed before the Enterprise could transport its passengers. Only 47 were brought aboard from the Lakul before it, too, was destroyed. Chekov served as a makeshift medical officer, enlisting several journalists to help treat survivors including Guinan, future bartender on the USS Enterprise-D, and Tolian Soran.

The Enterprise itself became ensnared within the Nexus when she maneuvered within transporter range of the Lakul. Scotty devised a plan to use a resonance burst from the deflector dish in order to simulate an antimatter explosion and free the Enterprise. Kirk went to deflector control to make necessary modifications as the Enterprise's engineering hull was struck by an energy tendril; Harriman was going to do it himself, but Kirk took the role instead, deciding that Harriman, as the ship's captain, was needed on the bridge, and in the captain's chair. The Enterprise escaped with minor casualties and a hull breach along sections 20 through 28 on decks 13 through 15. Kirk was believed killed in the breach, and the mission became notorious because of his loss. (Star Trek Generations)

The model of the Enterprise-B (Lot #998) was sold at the 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection auction on October 7, 2006 for US$132,000 including the buyer's premium (the winning bid was US$110,000). The model is now part of ScienceFictionArchives.com collections. [1]

The USS Enterprise-D cut-away poster listed a Captain "Tomas Johnson, Jr." for the Enterprise-B. The USS Enterprise Owners' Workshop Manual established that "Thomas Johnson, Jr." was the ship's final captain serving from the early 2320s through the ship's loss in 2329.